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In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards.

Educators reacting to the findings questioned any suggestion that today’s young people are less honest than previous generations, but several agreed that intensified pressures are prompting many students to cut corners.

“The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically,” said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “They have opportunities their predecessors didn’t have (to cheat). The temptation is greater.”

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Michael Josephson, the institute’s founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls – 30 percent overall – acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.

“What is the social cost of that – not to mention the implication for the next generation of mortgage brokers?” Josephson remarked in an interview. “In a society drenched with cynicism, young people can look at it and say ‘Why shouldn’t we? Everyone else does it.'”

Other findings from the survey:

_Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.

_Thirty-six percent said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment, up from 33 percent in 2004.

_Forty-two percent said they sometimes lie to save money – 49 percent of the boys and 36 percent of the girls.

Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that “when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.”

Nijmie Dzurinko, executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, said the findings were not at all reflective of the inner-city students she works with as an advocate for better curriculum and school funding.

“A lot of people like to blame society’s problems on young people, without recognizing that young people aren’t making the decisions about what’s happening in society,” said Dzurinko, 32. “They’re very easy to scapegoat.”

Peter Anderson, principal of Andover High School in Andover, Mass., said he and his colleagues had detected very little cheating on tests or Internet-based plagiarism. He has, however, noticed an uptick in students sharing homework in unauthorized ways.

“This generation is leading incredibly busy lives – involved in athletics, clubs, so many with part-time jobs, and – for seniors – an incredibly demanding and anxiety-producing college search,” he offered as an explanation.

1 response to Lie, Cheat and Steal: High School Ethics Surveyed

Interesting article that, if anything, probably understates the problem. My own experience is that upwards of one-quarter to one-third of the papers I’ve seen are plagiarized to some degree and that at least half of all kids have done it when they felt it necessary. The fact that kids are busy is true, but I don’t think most of it is with extra-curriculars. The kids who under-perform tend to spend a tremendous amount of time on Facebook and texting. As far as lying goes, it’s become endemic. The excuse “I turned it in and you lost it” was common among all teachers at both schools I have taught in. The kids thinking seems to be, “If you can’t prove I didn’t turn it in, I win.” An interesting argument. If offered the chance, about half of these later turn it in and admit they lied he first time. Unfortunately, no school — including he ones I student taught in — had an established policy for dealing with this. It’s a very serious problem. The kids are getting away with murder and they know it.